Animal Life news stories

Ancient rainforest-dwelling humans ate wide range of foods to survive
24th October 2021 | nhm.ac.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Humans

Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans living in rainforests has been found in a cave in Southeast Asia. Researchers analysed fossilised teeth discovered in Laos, revealing that these humans ate fruits and meat as part of an omnivorous diet.

 

Earth Tipped on Its Side 84 Million Years Ago, New Evidence Suggests
20th October 2021 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

We know that true polar wander (TPW) can occasionally tilt whole planets and moons relative to their axes, but it’s not entirely clear just how often this has happened to Earth. Now a new study presents evidence of one such tilting event that occurred around 84 million years ago – when dinosaurs still walked the Earth.

So-called junk DNA plays critical role in mammalian development
20th October 2021 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

Nearly half of our DNA has been written off as junk, the discards of evolution…

A Grim ‘Huge Extinction Event’ Happened 30 Million Years Ago, And We Only Just Noticed
11th October 2021 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

The close of the Eocene roughly 33 million years ago marks a time of great change on Earth. In a slow reversal of what we’re seeing today, temperatures dropped and glaciers stretched their icy fingers towards the equator.

Ancient Humans Tended The World’s Most Dangerous Birds, Because of Course We Did
29th September 2021 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

With powerful legs tipped by dagger-like talons, capable of eviscerating you with a single kick, cassowaries are the bird that most lives up to the moniker of a modern dinosaur.

South Australian eagle fossil identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world
29th September 2021 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

A 25m-year-old eagle fossil discovered on a remote outback cattle station in South Australia has been identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world.

Dinosaurs: ‘Bizarre’ fossil is Africa’s first ankylosaur
24th September 2021 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Humans

“Think of a coffee table. Short, broad, covered in spikes and walking towards you. That’s an ankylosaur!”

Modern snakes evolved from a few survivors of dino-killing asteroid
14th September 2021 phys.org | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

A new study suggests that all living snakes evolved from a handful of species that survived the giant asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs and most other living things at the end of the Cretaceous

Dark regions of the genome may drive the evolution of new species
7th September 2021 | livescience.com | Animal Life, Humans

Genetic “dark matter” may drive the emergence of new species, new research finds.

‘A Complex Form of Empathy’: Boars Hatch Breakout Plan to Save Two Caged Piglets
7th September 2021 | sciencealert.com | Animal Life

A wild boar carried out a daring mission to free two piglets from a trap, demonstrating high levels of intelligence and empathy, a new paper published in Scientific Reports shows

New species of ancient four-legged whale discovered in Egypt
29th August 2021 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth

Scientists in Egypt have identified a new species of four-legged whale that lived around 43 million years ago.

Extinct ‘Hobbit’ Creature Found in Wyoming Emerged in The Wake of The Dinosaurs
19th August 2021 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life

Early on their quest to reach the Lonely Mountain in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937), Bilbo Baggins and company cross paths with an enormous, shape-shifting warrior named Beorn.

Cuttlefish remember details of their last meal, study finds
19th August 2021 | theguardian.com | Animal Life

Cuttlefish have one of the largest brains among invertebrates and can remember what, where, and when specific things happened right up to their final days of life, according to new research.

Tusk reveals woolly mammoth’s massive lifetime mileage
13th August 2021 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life

The research shows that the Ice Age animal travelled a distance equivalent to circling the Earth twice.

Origin of dinosaur-ending asteroid possibly found. And it’s dark.
10th August 2021 | livescience.com | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Space

About 66 million years ago, an estimated 6-mile-wide (9.6 kilometers) object slammed into Earth, triggering a cataclysmic series of events that resulted in the demise of non-avian dinosaurs.  Now, scientists think they know where that object came from.

A Terrifying ‘Dragon’ Was The Largest Known Flying Reptile of Ancient Australia
9th August 2021 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Animal Life

With a seven-meter wingspan, and a mouth bristling with fangs, a newly discovered pterosaur would have ruled the skies over Australia’s northeast around 110 million years ago.

News stories covering Animal Science, bacterial life, DNA.